If you are a new listener to this podcast, welcome! I’m Craig. This is Reza, and we are going to help you take it to the next level. 

With over 40 years of teaching between us, we’ll help you improve your grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

In this episode: Common mistakes made by Spanish speakers

Listener Feedback:

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Olga (Sevilla)

Una duda que tengo es el significado de “QUE”. Normalmente significa ‘What’, pero en la frase ¡que barato¡ se escribe con ‘that´s’ “that´s cheap”. ¿Porque?

You’re right, Olga – “Qué” is often translated to “what” (¿Qué hora es? – What time is it? ¿Qué es eso? – What’s that?),

but ‘what’ can also be translated as “How” or “That” in some specific expressions.

¡Qué cara! – What a cheek! How cheeky! ‘He’s taking a liberty!’

Así que “¡Qué barato!” en inglés es “That’s cheap” o “How cheap!”. How fantastic! How wonderful! That’s amazing! That’s terrible! How frustrating!

It’s true that quite often you’ll get into problems if you try to translate directly from Spanish to English. It isn’t always possible.

What’s ‘Tengo 20 años’ – I’m 20

‘Vamos a tomar una cerveza. – Let’s go for a beer / Let’s have a beer

Tengo hambre / sueño – I’m hungry / sleepy

Perdí el autobus – I missed the bus

It’s normal to translate when you first start learning a language, but try to stop doing it as soon as possible and start thinking in English.

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Common mistakes made by Spanish speakers:

I like you – tu me gustas

cocky, big-headed – arrogante, creído, engreído

‘tener’ is a problem, isn’t it? – it doesn’t necessarily translate to ‘I have’

tengo calor – I’m hot
tengo sed – I’m thirsty (pronunciation – “thirstee”)
¡Ten cuidado! – Be careful! (Take care – Cuídate)
tienes suerte – you’re lucky
tengo frío – I’m cold
tengo prisa – I’m in a hurry
tengo miedo de/a – I’m afraid of… What are you afraid of?
tienes razón – you’re right (the 3 most useful words in any marriage!) Yes dear, you’re right!

I’m bored / I’m boring

The film is boring – I am bored (by the film) – ‘ed’ adjectives are passive. ‘ing’ adjectives are active.

This podcast is interested or interesting? You are interested by the podcast.

XThe people is very kind.X – a person IS… / people ARE…. ‘people’ is the plural noun. ‘person’ is the singular noun.

‘I brought my books here to help you.’ NOT….Xto helpingX NOT Xfor to helpX

It’s the ‘infinitive of purpose’ (WHY?) :

I brought my books here.
– Why?
to help you.

I took a pen
– Why?
to write something.

I took a chair.
– Why?
to sit down.

I opened the door.
– Why?
to go out.

Why did you listen to Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig?
to improve my English

Why did Reza go there today?
To podcast with Craig.

TAKE and LAST

It TAKES Reza 40 minutes to get to Craig’s house.

A podcast LASTS about 30 minutes. (the duration of the podcast is about 30 minutes)

X”Can you explain me how to use the verb get?X

Can you explain how to use… OR Can you explain TO ME how to use….OR Can you TELL ME how to use…

TELL and SAY

You usually SAY SOMETHING but you TELL SOMEONE

…but there are exceptions:

TELL the truth
TELL a lie
TELL a story
TELL a joke etc.

“I SAID TO my boss…” OR “I TOLD my boss.”

XThere are much differents things to do in my town.X – There are many different things to do in my town.

Adjectives do not agree with the noun in English. – No ‘S’!!

XI didn’t write nothing.X – “I didn’t write anything.” or “I wrote nothing.”

Can you think of more common mistakes? Send us an email to [email protected] or to Reza at [email protected], or send us a voice message through our website. Just click the orange button on the home page.

The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’